bidirectional, so that if an individual experiences stress in their working environment,
they will be likely to feel lower occupational commitment. This concurs with research
by Jamal (1990) who concluded that when individuals are confronted with high job
stressors it is quite reasonable for them to experience a decrease in occupational
commitment, low job satisfaction, and a higher desire to leave the profession.
Achievement strivings was found to be a significant predictor of perceived stress
with a moderate positive effect, indicating that as achievement strivings increase, stress
increases also. This finding is consistent with Jex et al. (2002) who reported that
relations between stressors and strains were strongest amongst those reporting higher
levels of achievement strivings. The implications of these findings are that it is possible
that in situations where highly motivated and ambitious individuals come into contact
with unavoidable environmental job stressors, perceptions of stress will increase.
Consequently, it appears that job stressors will have the greatest negative impact on
those individuals who are motivated to strive for high levels of achievement.